Page 32 of Deeper Than the Dead

Molino Road, Fayetteville, 10:00 a.m.

The curve didn’t officially have a name, but some locals had called it Dead Man’s Curve for as long as Vera could recall. For good reason. Several people had lost their lives taking this curve too fast.

She felt sick staring down the steep incline that could have taken her sister to her death. Eve’s car sat on the edge of the pavement, one wheel dangling over that precipice. She had frozen at first, she said. Then, terrified and gripping the steering wheel, she realized if she didn’t let go, crawl over to the passenger-side door, and get the hell out, she would remain in danger. It was a miracle her movements hadn’t shifted the car and caused it to tumble fully over the edge.

Even if she hadn’t been killed, she could have been gravely injured.

The possible explanations for how this happened pressed harder and harder against Vera’s chest. Had someone rammed into Eve’s car with the intention of injuring her? Vera swallowed at the rising emotion. Or worse, killing her? But why? The question twisted inside her. She couldn’t see this having anything to do with Sheree’s remains being found. But who the hell knew?

“Did you get a glimpse of the license plate number?”

Eve shook her head in response to Bent’s question. She had explained that she’d come around the curve and then suddenly a vehicle rammed her from behind. Since it was not safe to take that curve at any rate of speed other than a crawl, the sudden lurch forward caused her to cut the steering wheel sharply to the right to avoid going over the left side of the road. When she cut so sharply, her car skidded, and her rear driver’s side tire slipped over the edge of the pavement and into the air. This left the back end of the vehicle perched partially on the rear axle and slanted toward that drop-off.

Her car now sat diagonally blocking the narrow road. Bent had called a wrecker as they left the house, and thankfully, it had arrived. Now that he had assessed the situation from an official perspective, including taking photos with his phone, the wrecker driver was attempting to move Eve’s car. The only damage appeared to be at the rear bumper, where she’d been struck by the other vehicle. There could be damage beneath, since the wheel left the road and caused the frame, axle, or whatever to hit the pavement.

The only thing that mattered to Vera at the moment was that her sister was okay. Still, she understood the necessity of determining how this had happened and who was responsible. If it was intentional ... she didn’t even want to go there. Bent, on the other hand, had to go there. He needed every detail Eve could recall.

“Then it was a truck,” Bent said, above the grind of the wrecker’s progress.

Eve shrugged. “Maybe. Like I said, I really didn’t see anything other than the headlight area, and then I was busy trying not to run off the road.”

“More details may come to you later,” Vera offered in hopes of calming her sister.

“If a vehicle was right on your tail,” Bent pressed, “and the headlights were visible in your rear window, then the vehicle sat higher than yours. Had to be an SUV or a truck.”

“All I know,” Eve insisted, sounding exhausted and exasperated, “is that I felt an impact, and then I was struggling to control my car. When I got out, the other vehicle was gone, and for a moment, I collapsed into a heap on the pavement.” She shivered. “I was just glad not to be down there.” She nodded toward the rocky drop-off.

Vera’s heart lurched all over again. This had been entirely too close.

Bent surveyed the road. “Which tells me,” he went on, oblivious to Eve’s emotional state, “the driver backed up, turned around, and went in the direction from which he’d come.”

Another shrug from Eve. “Guess so.”

Vera set her own emotions aside. Bent was right: there was no way the other vehicle could have gotten around Eve’s car. Vera scanned the short distance between where Eve’s car sat and the curve. The only option would have been to back up beyond the curve and then to turn around on the other side. The move would have been risky considering another vehicle could have happened along.

“There’s paint transfer.” Bent gestured to the damaged rear end of Eve’s car. “A dark green, I think. That could help us identify the vehicle that did this.” He surveyed the road once more. “Once you turned onto Molino from Coldwater Creek, you didn’t notice anyone in your rearview mirror?”

“I wish I had, but I was thinking about all this other stuff.” Eve exhaled a big breath. “I should have paid better attention.”

Vera moved closer, draped an arm around her, and gave her a hug. “You’re okay. That’s what matters.”

“You might not want to hug me,” Eve said, drawing back. “I had a spill with my pickup. That’s why I was coming from Ardmore. We had to borrow one of the chemicals we ran out of. Evidently the lid wasn’t closed properly when I picked it up, and I got some on my clothes. I was headed home to change before going back to the funeral home.”

The fact that her sister was a mortician made Vera wince and step back. “Good point. We should get you home.”

The wrecker driver shouted to Bent that he was ready to go, and Bent waved him on.

The three of them headed for Bent’s truck. At the passenger-side door, Eve hesitated. “I doubt Bent wants me in the middle next to him.”

Vera didn’t see any stains on her sister’s clothes, but there was a definite odor about her that she hadn’t noticed at first. She’d been too grateful she was uninjured. Rather than argue about who would sit next to Bent, Vera climbed in. Why couldn’t he have one of those trucks with a back seat? She supposed she should be glad the truck had a bench seat.

When Eve climbed in next, Vera had no choice but to ease closer to where he would sit. When he slid behind the wheel, he kept his attention straight ahead, which made the situation a bit more tolerable. The drive to Good Hollow Road took only a few minutes. No one spoke during that time. Vera was thankful. She was confident the sound of his voice would have made the ride even more cramped and uncomfortable.

However hard she tried to suppress the images, flashes of her sister going over that precipice kept haunting her.

Thank God she’s okay.

Eve had suffered more than anyone with the intrusion of Sheree into their lives. Vera hated, hated that her sister had to go through any of this.

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